Running from the Past
by Protect-My-Purple-Unicorn
Summary: Spencer Reid has been at the FBI for six years, and his life seems perfect. But when his past comes back to haunt him, he is forced to reveal a part of his life that he has spent years running from. Will his team ever look at him the same when the secret comes out? Story prompt from Annjadekin. little bit of Reid/JJ.
1. Chapter 1

"Spencer!"

"Spencer, Watch me!"

"Watch me, Spencer! Watch me!"

* * *

"Spence?" JJ gave the scraggly looking man sleeping on his couch a gentle push, and watched as the space between his eyes crinkled. It was kinda cute. She smiled and shook him again.

Seeing Spence, even while he was sleeping, was the highlight of her day so far. Even though it was early, this day had little indication it was going to get better. Hotch's call had come at six. In the morning. On a Saturday. After getting back the night before from Branson where the team had worked a homicide for a week.

When the call had come in, JJ had to physically stop herself from chucking the accursed phone across the room and screaming profanities that would have awoken the small, adorable seven-year-old angle who was sleeping soundly next to her. Henry had sleeping in her room quiet often of late, ever since she and will had split up.

The divorce had been amicable. Will was in love with someone else, and with her being gone as often as she was, JJ wasn't surprised. That wasn't to say she didn't miss Will. Some mornings, she still reached over to grasp his hand, only to find that the bed was empty. But it was strange. Sometimes, she missed Will so much, it was like a punch in the gut. Other times, it was nothing, as though nothing was missing. She didn't understand it, but she hoped it was ok to feel that way.

The hardest part of the divorce was explaining things to Henry. How do you explain to a little boy why his Mommy and Daddy don't live in the same house? You couldn't, not really anyway. Things were easier since he liked Will's girlfriend (he was constantly talking about Miss Lori). So even that was working out for the best.

So, instead of throwing the phone, she called Will, arranged to drop Henry off with him, and pack her go-bag. Who knew where they were headed this time.

JJ dropped off a drowsy Henry into Lori's arms and pressed a kiss to the sleepy boy's head, and told Will that she would call later that night. Then she hopped in her car and drove towards Quantico. This familiar routine was becoming more and more ridiculous with every repetition. JJ knew Henry needed a stable home, not a home that changed day to day. She considered asking Hotch how he managed so well with Jack, but that situation was so different, she had a feeling that it wouldn't really help.

Her phone rang loudly, jolting her out of her revelries. She glanced at the number and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"JJ, thank goodness!" an excited and relieved voice exclaimed on the other side of the line. The almost dramatic sound in her voice brought a smile to JJ lips.

"Hey Garcia. What's up?"

There was an odd, loaded quiet Garcia's end. "Well, I a little worried about something…"

"Um, ok?"

She was silent for a moment more, then she took a deep breath.

And the dam broke.

"JJ, look. Something's not right with Reid. It's like he's a totally different person lately. I mean, do you remember three days ago while we were in Branson? And how weird he was acting? He stared at a wall for two hours, not saying anything! He just sat there!"

"Maybe he was just tired," JJ tried to offer up, but Garcia plowed on ahead.

"And he's been so snappy lately! He practically bit Morgan's throat out for teasing him, and he's never done that before! But he's also been quieter than usual. He isn't even correcting us lately, or even offering up his random bits of scary facts like he usually does. And-"

"Garcia!" JJ finally broke through to the torrent of worries the usually bouncy woman was spewing out. "Look, I'm sure it's nothing. That was a rough case. Spence is tough, he'll bounce back."

"But I think it's more than that!" Penny fretted. "I just noticed it this week, but he's been like this a lot lately! And I worried something's wrong! He usually texts me to find out what we're dealing with when a case comes through, so that he can bring some books that might help him, but it's been an hour, and I haven't heard anything from him! Not a text, not a call, Nothing! So, I need you to just run by his apartment and check on him. Please?"

JJ sighed slightly, but replied, "Alright. But tell Hotch we might be late. Traffic is terrible this morning, and I'm still ten minutes from his place."

JJ heard Garcia sigh in relief. "Thanks JJ. No one else listened to me about this. But I'm sure there is something wrong. I just don't know what."

She smiled. "No problem. See you soon."

"Bye!"

* * *

Thinking back on her conversation with Garcia, JJ took a moment to look at Reid. The shadows under his eyes were darker than usual, as though he hadn't slept in days. And was he thinner than usual? She eyed him, then shook her head. Something _was_ up with him. She made a note to buy Garcia a coffee for tipping her off about Spence.

"Spence? Reid? You need to wake up." She gave him another firm shake, and he groaned. His eyes blinked open slowly, his warm brown eyes looking watery.

"JJ?" he mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

"Garcia was worried, wanted me to check in on you. And I'm glad she did. You were sleeping like the dead!" she laughed slightly, then broke out into full out laughter when he attempted to sit up, misplaced his hand on the side of the couch cushion of the couch and collapsed back into a heap on his back.

"Shut up," he mumbled quietly, finally managing to sit up. He glanced down and frowned. "Why am I still in my clothes?"

"Umm, well, unless you sleep on your couch a lot, I'd guess you fell asleep reading." She glanced around and found and book on the floor near where Reid's head had been laying. She picked it and waved in the air slightly.

"Oh," he shrugged, swung his legs off the couch, and then scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. JJ frowned. Oh yeah, something was definitely wrong.

"You ok?" she asked. No reason to beat around the bush with him.

He looked at her, his expression natural. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

JJ pressed her lips into a firm line, then sat down in the leather armchair next to Spence. "You know, you're a really bad liar."

Reid cocked an eyebrow at her. "JJ I'm…" but he stopped, sighed and said, "What gave me away?"

She smiled kindly at her friend. "Well, I'm not going to take the credit. It was Garcia who pointed it out to me, but you've been acting weird. Kinda like…" she paused, realizing what his behavior reminded her of. The moodiness, the distance. Terror flooded her suddenly, and she quietly asked, "Reid, are you- I mean, you're not…"

Reid looked confused for a moment, then wide-eyed horror filled his face. "No!" He stood frantically. "No, JJ. I'm not using again! I swear to you!" he dropped to his knees, his eyes pleading with her to believe him. He held his arms out to her. "Look! See! I promised you I would never use again."

She frowned momentarily. He wasn't angry that she had mentioned the drugs, so that was a good sign, but why was he so desperate to prove it? But then, this is how it had always been. With Hotch, he never mentioned his drug problem. As far as she knew, he never talked about it with Garcia or Morgan. But every time she mentioned it, which was only a handful of times, he was almost desperate to prove himself. He always seemed so worried that she might think the worst of him, though she never would. He was Spencer, her best friend, her family, her-

JJ stopped herself. She was not continuing that thought. Instead, she took his hand, smiled at him and said, "Smile."

Reid looked at her like she was nuts. "What?"

"I trust you Spence. You don't need to prove yourself. I'll let you work through whatever you're going thorough on your own, if that's what you want. But I want you to smile first, and then I'll forget about it."

Reid looked a little calmer, but he was still looking at her like she was crazy. "Why?"

"You haven't smiled for a while, and I miss it. So just smile, and I'll let you be."

He paused, eyeing her carefully. Then, in a flash, he gave her a grin so big, it was actually really creepy looking. He stretched it as far as he could, his eyes crinkling and all of his teeth showing. It was such a hilariously terrifying face, that JJ laughed loudly, giggling hysterically. As she laugh, she watched as the weird smile slipped into Reid more natural, soft smile. Wiping the water leaking from her eyes away, she gripped his hand tight. "Never do that again," she chastised, still giggling.

He laughed. "Too much?"

"Just a little."

He really smiled this time, then stood and stretched. "Alright, let me get dressed. Then I think you said something about coffee?"

JJ laughed again. "Maybe I should bribe you with coffee more often. You already seem more chipper!"

He smiled again, walking out of the room. "It's not the coffee, JJ. But it helps."

* * *

Garcia squealed in delight when JJ passed her the latte she and Reid had picked up for their bubbly friend. Hotch just nodded, his seemingly constant scowl as steadfast as ever.

"Sorry we're late." Reid breathed out, sinking into the chair next to Morgan. He smiled across the table at JJ, and he was relieved to see that calm look settle across her face.

JJ had been so stressed lately, with everything going on with her and Will and Will's girlfriend. He couldn't help but frown at the thought of Will. How anyone could let someone as amazing as JJ go, Reid would never know. She was just amazing, and steadfast, and wonderful. Her face, which had lately been straightened into a frown, usually lit up with a smile that seem to light up the room. Will was an idiot to leave her.

Hotch began talking, but for once, Reid couldn't focus. Prentiss still hadn't shown up, and Hotch never really began talking about the case until everyone was here. So Reid let his mind fade from happier prospects like JJ, to something that had been bothering him since he woke up.

The dream.

It was getting more and more vivid every night. Every night, he could see her pretty black hair, her blue eyes piercing through him. Her voice calling him. He closed his eyes, listening to her voice echoing in his head.

 _"Spencer!"_

Her voice was so real. She had been so young. Too young.

"Spencer?"

Reid's eye's flashed open. All eyes were on him.

Reid cleared his throat. "Sorry."

Hotch gave him a concerned glance. So JJ and Garcia weren't the only ones who had noticed his behavior.

"Well, now that we're all here," Hotch began. Reid glanced around and saw the Prentiss was sitting near Morgan. Hotch motioned to Garcia, who stood and began opening files on the screen on the wall.

"The CIA has asked us to help them on a cold case that just recently opened back up. About six years ago, the little girls of prominent families were being kidnapped and killed all along the east coast. "

Reid felt his stomach drop. No. Not this case. How could this happen! Was it not enough that this case haunted his dreams, but now his daily life too?

"The case went cold after Lily Harper, a seven year old whose mother a member of the State legislature in Maine, went missing. The family had received a letter three days before the kidnapping, and an elite team of CIA agents were sent to protect her. The protective measures failed, and she was kidnapped, and three days later, her body was found.

"The anniversary of Lily's disappearance is in one week, and yesterday, Daniel Messing received a letter, exactly like the ones from the previous kidnappings. The team that originally worked the case has reassembled and is asking for our help."

"I remember this case," Rossi chimed in. "Awful thing. I remember that we offered to help them before, and the refused. What changed their minds?"

"Apparently, the team lost a few key members and resources that they were relying on." Hotch inserted.

Guilt pooled in Reid's stomach. He should tell them. But no, that wouldn't help. Surely they didn't need to know his part in this. As the team agreed to help, then walked out of the room, Reid made a snap decision. If he could convince Hotch to let him stay behind, maybe the team would find out about his past. After all, he had been a completely different person back then. There was no way they would figure it out.

"Hotch," he called out, rushing to catch up with the older man. Hotch paused in the doorway. "Is there any way I can stay behind for this one?"

"Stay behind?"

"Yeah, I just kinda think I might be more help here at Quantico than out in the field."

Hotch looked at him for a moment before saying, "Reid, we're not going anywhere."

"We're not?"

"No, they're coming here. The Killer is here in D.C." Hotch walked away, leaving a shocked Reid standing in the door.

This was not going to be good.

* * *

"Shea! I screwed up!" Shea Williams didn't even glance up from his book as his twin sister burst into the room in her usual dramatic manner.

Shea turn a page and said idly, "Whatever you did, I'm sure it's not nearly as bad the cookies you gave to the director." He glanced at Fae, her dark eyes large and worried.

His comment distracted her, making her laugh. "No, that wasn't bad. That was funny!"

Shea cocked an eyebrow at her. "You put so much salt in those cookies, she just about had a heart attack."

"Her life wasn't in danger, Shea! And the look on her face? Priceless!" The youngest Williams sibling laughed gleefully, but then sobered. "But this time, I may have went a bit too far. My life may be on the line."

This made Shea pause. If his sister was actually considering the consequences of her actions, then she must have really messed up this time. "Fae… what did you do?"

Fae glanced over her shoulder, the whispered nervously, "I put baking soda in Katlyn's coffee instead of sugar."

Shea groaned. Of all the harebrained schemes, Fae just _had_ to pull one on Katlyn. And worse, she messed with the team leader's coffee.

Fae Williams was a doomed woman.

Shea returned to his book, humming the death march loudly. His sister slapped his arm. "Shut up, you! If you're not going to help me fix things, why do I even come to you?"

"To provide me with my daily entertainment, dear sister."

"Oh, so I'm just a toy to you?! Katlyn's going to murder me!"

Shea closed his book and stood, stretching. "Well that's what you get for messing with your supervisor. Especially when you should be getting ready to go. Were supposed to be at Quantico in an hour."

"What are you two doing?" the twins jumped as a tall blond man walked in. Shea almost laughed as Fae spun on the spot and placed her hands behind her back. Her classic "whatever it was, I'm not guilty" look. Everyone who spent an hour with her was familiar with that stance, because Fae caused a minor catastrophe every fifteen minutes. When she stood like that, all you could do was hope that you weren't the butt of her joke.

The man at the door must have noticed this too, and he smiled ruefully. "Getting into trouble again, Fae?" he said in his calming, low voice.

Fae smiled widely at him. "Innocent until proven guilty, Mika! Nothing's happened yet, so you can't blame me!"

Mika chuckled. "If you say so, Fae. Are you ready to go?"

"Go?"

"Quantico, Fae." Shea hissed in his sister's ear.

"Oh!" Fae blushed, and Shea sighed. Why did he even try? Sometimes it was hard to believe that this six-foot-three willow of a walking disaster was one of the greatest covert operatives in the history of the CIA. But maybe that was the genius of it. She was such a professional when it got down to the nitty-gritty of a case, but until then, she acted like a five-year-old. It was enough to give a person whiplash.

"Her bag is already in the car." Shea offered up. He had stored his sister's bag along with his own, knowing Fae would probably forget things she didn't deem important at the time, like socks, or a toothbrush, or her gun.

Mika's green eyes sparkled with humor. "Fae, you're a mess. What would you do without your brother?"

Fae laughed, unashamed. "Probably find a nice little box on the side of the road and live my days happily as a hellion, forced to wander the streets on my own."

Mika and Shea both laughed at the girls dramatics. Shea grabbed his backpack he always carried with him and placed his book inside.

"It's going to be weird, isn't it?"

Shea turned to look at his sister, and she was staring at Mika.

"What is?" the older man asked, though his vice gave away that he was thinking the same thing. They all were. Working this case again, after six years, minus two members of their team, their family.

"It's just… I don't know. Maybe we should try to find them. Surely they would want to see the end of this case."

"Fae," Mika began, but he was cut off by the woman that strode into the room at that moment, a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Fae, I've already contacted Baylee. She reassured me that there was no way she wanted back on the case. She happier with her job now."

"But what about-"

"And as for Spencer," Katlyn Morris continued, "We don't know where he is. He said he wanted relocating, that he wanted to forget. Even if I needed to, I can't get ahold of him. You know that, Fae. How many months did you spend trying to find him?"

Fae hung her head. "More than you wanted me to, I know. But," she looked at her supervisor, her eyes firm and steady. "This is the case that drove him away. Maybe, if he knew that we had another chance to catch this guy, he would come back. Maybe-"

"Fae," Fae stopped and looked up at Mika, who had a hand on her shoulder. "We all miss him. But we can't find him. His last request to us was that we don't look for him. How can we go against that?"

Fae looked like she wanted to argue, but she hung her head instead. "Your right," she whispered. "But I still miss them.

"We all do, Fae," Shea chimed in quietly.

A silence fell over the room, each member of the team, settling his or her own thoughts. But then Katelyn cleared her throat. "Alright, guys," she said, forcing a smile onto her face. "Let's go out there and catch this weasel. It's time for Mandy, Patten, Emma, and Lily to finally have their stories closed."

The rest of the team murmured in agreement, and Katlyn smiled and took a large drink of the coffee in her hand.

The sound following that drink sounded like someone drowning and trying to spew the liquid filling them out of their nose. Katlyn gagged and spat, tossing the coffee in the trash. She glared at Fae, who suddenly brightened. She had the unmistakable look of someone who had just witnessed the greatest slapstick joke of all times.

"FAE!" Katelyn roared, and Fae bolted out the door, laughing as she went. Shea heard Mika chuckle as the two men watched Katlyn race after Fae, cursing profusely.

Shea enjoyed the moment, sensing that there wouldn't be another moment like it for a while. Then he picked up his bag and headed out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

JJ opened the case file sitting on her desk, and was greeted with the pictures of three young girls. They looked barely older than six. Just a few years older than Henry… JJ had the sudden urge to grab her phone and call Will, just to check on her boy. But she instead spread out the pictures.

None of the girls look very much alike. The youngest was five, with brown eyes and hair. She was wearing a blue and white checkered dress and holding a blue bear firmly in her arms. She gave the camera a toothy grin. Her name was Chloe Banos.

The next girl was about the same age, but she had blond hair and green eyes. Her lips were pressed together in a pout, and her hands were on her hips. She was wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt. Maya Renolds.

The last picture was of the final victim. The oldest of the three, Lily Harper. Lily was looking into the camera, smiling sweetly. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, much like Maya, but Lily's eyes were a piercing blue and her hair a dark onyx color. JJ eyed the picture carefully. In the back, it looked like there was another behind Lily. She couldn't see much, just a blur of brown. She shook it off. The picture was a copy of one the family had, so it was probably nothing.

JJ closed the file and stood, then turned strait into Reid. JJ gasped in shock, dropping the folder. "Spence, I sorry I didn't- wait. We're you looking over my shoulder?"

"Um, no! No! I just- uh. Well I just kinda saw the pictures and- um- is this the case file?" He stuttered feebly. JJ raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah. It's from the case when it closed. Garcia gave it to me to give to you. She knows you don't like the electronic stuff. I was just taking the look." She held the file out to Reid, and he snatched it.

"Oh, so everyone got the previous file?"

"Yeah." Ok, he was actually starting to weird her out.

"Oh," he opened it and began to scan through the file. "Anything on the previous team? The CIA team?"

"Not really." JJ came around to look at the open file. "It just mentions that it was a specialized team of six people."

Reid nodded, then flipped through the papers in the file, then paused when he made it to the pictures. JJ heard him inhale quickly. "Lily," he breathed, and JJ watched his entire face soften.

"Yeah, it's so sad. These poor babies. They were barely older than Henry."

"Seven years, two months."

"What?" JJ eyed him carefully. Did he know something about this case?

"Um, L- the girl. She was the oldest by," he peered at the paper. "About five months. The girl before her was only six years and nine months old."

"Um, yeah. I guess so." JJ watched Reid carefully. There was something off.

"Hey guys!" Reid and JJ turned as Garcia bustled up to them. "The CIA guys are here."

JJ nodded, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Reid pale. She glanced at him. "Are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah!" he turned, trying to hide the worried expression on his face. "I just need to go take care of something. Hotch wanted me to make some calls to some connection I have that could help us."

"Oh," Garcia said, seeming shocked. "Well, I can make the calls, if you want. It's probably best if you meet with-"

"No!" Reid said hurriedly. "I should probably take care of this. Just let me know what they say, ok?"

"But..." Garcia started, but Reid had already turned and began walking the door.

"I thought you said you talked to him?" Garcia asked.

"I did. But I'm sure he's ok. Just distracted. He's tough, he'll work through this." JJ said, but her voice wasn't as convincing as her words.

* * *

"Whoa! Look at this place!" Fae bounced through the door of the BAU office at Quantico. She smiled at her brother, who grinned back. However, the smile couldn't hide the anxiety resonating from him. His hands were gripping the book he held tightly, and his forehead was crinkled from stress. Fae hated it when he got this way. Fae knew that her brother didn't share her love of loud, crowded spaces. Unlike her, he didn't enjoy the feeling of disappearing into a crowd, of being surrounded by people all buzzing with life. That was why he usually didn't stray too far from the office.

"Yeah, sure puts our little closet space to shame doesn't it." Fae laughed, feeling something bump into her. She glanced to the side, barely paying attention as a tall lanky figure brushed past her, mumbling sorry as he went. She turned, trying to catch a glimpse of the man, but was distracted by the blond jogging up to them, her round face was pulled up in a welcoming smile. But Fae's eye didn't stay on the woman for long, before traveling to the gorgeous man who strode calmly behind her.

Fae wasn't particularly found bald men, but this six feet of smoldering good looks, whose abs were very visible beneath the skintight gray shirt he was wearing, was quickly changing her mind. Besides the fine physical looks of the man, Fae notice the determined set of his eyes, the way they seemed incredibly focused on Fae's group. Alpha male, sizing up the competition or, the more likely option, considering the way his eyes darted down to the woman who was only half his height, sizing up threats.

Fae sighed. The good looking ones were always taken.

The two people walked over and the lady held her hand out. "Hi!" She smiled. "I'm Garcia, and this is Agent Morgan." The man smiled and also held out his hand. Fae couldn't help herself. She all but jumped his hand and gave him her best smile, before turning to Garcia and shaking her hand as well. Then she flashed another grin at Agent Morgan, watching as he flustered a little.

"Fae," She turned when she heard Katlyn voice take on a warning tone, and gave her leader a wide, innocent smile. Then she saw Katlyn stern glare, and she shrank back by her brother's side.

"Guess I pushed it a little far, huh?" she whispered to Shea.

"Hmm," was all he said.

Katlyn stepped forward and took Garcia's hand in firm shake, then moved on to Morgan's. "I apologize about Fae. She gets a little… overeager." She flashed another glare back at Fae, who flushed. "I'm Katlyn Morris. This is Agent Mika Teller." Mika stepped past the twins to shake the two hands held out to him.

"And this is Agent Fae Williams, and her brother, Sha- wait." Katlyn paused, looking around. "Where did Shea go?"

Fae glanced around. Hadn't he been right beside her? Panic suddenly set in her stomach. Shea never disappeared like this, not without saying something. Fae almost turned around and left the building to look for her brother, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She glanced up into the man's steady green eyes. "Shea will be fine," he said in his calming voice. Fae set her lips in a grimace, but followed as the two FBI agents led them to a meeting room.

* * *

Spencer sighed in relief as he made his way out of the elevator to the parking garage. He had been sure he was caught when he accidentally bumped into Fae. It was hard to pull one over on her; even her own brother, who knew her better than anyone, couldn't trick her. But old habits die hard and, when the panic of being noticed overwhelmed him, he almost instantly dropped his head, moved his hair to cover his face, and tried to be inconspicuous. He thanked his lucky stars that Fae had been distracted by Morgan.

Shea had been another story. He was harder to distract. But maybe, just maybe, he had managed to-

"That was a risky move, Spencer,"

Reid froze, then turned slowly, as though maybe if he moved slowly enough, the owner of that voice wouldn't really be there. But no, there he was, tall and gangly, black messy hair hanging over his dark eyes.

"You're lucky your friend distracted Fae. You've lost your touch. If you were trying to avoid us, you never should have gone near Fae."

Spencer laughed, the sound tight in his throat. "You guys were blocking the exit. Didn't leave me much of a choice. I was just hoping Fae hadn't changed too much. She used to chase after anyone with an XY chromosome, so I was kind of relying on Morgan. But I knew I didn't have much of a chance of fooling you. You were always just as observant as her."

The two men stared at each other, before Shea broke out in a wide grin. And Reid couldn't help but smile back. Shea ran over and hugged Reid tightly. "

"It's good to see you again Spencer."

Reid pulled out of the hug, keeping a hand on Shea's shoulder as he glanced over his old friend. "It's good to see you too, Shea."

* * *

"Why don't you start by telling us about the case?" Hotch offered to the CIA agents and they, JJ, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi all sat at the table. "We know the details that were in the file, but if there was anything left out, it would be instrumental in helping you."

Katlyn sat forward in her seat. JJ was shocked at just how much this woman reminded her of Hotch. Same no-nonsense demeanor, cool intelligence; she was a natural-born leader. Mika seemed like a quite sort of man. Acting as a foil to Katlyn's manner, he was easier to be near, as he seemed to radiate calm. Fae was sweet, if a little wild, and JJ wondered just how much her twin brother was like her.

That fact gave her pause. They were siblings, yet they were on the same team. It wasn't something that happened very often. Especially with how young they were. Fae was only a year younger than Reid. Were they special cases like he was? But even that didn't make sense. Fae had mentioned when they had sat down that she and her brother had been in the CIA for over ten years, but that would have meant that the Williams twins were fifteen when they had joined. Surely that wasn't possible?

"This case was handled by my team a little less than six years ago. It was an odd case for us, as we usually take on organized crime, but this case was of the upmost importance. We had two other members at this time, both of which left about 6 months after the final murder.

"There were multiple connections that were made between the three families. All well off, each with a parent in some sort of political field ranging from the mayor of a city to a member of congress. The children all went to school at some sort of private institution. Families went to the same places for vacations, but at different times. The parents involved in politics had even met each other at some point. But absolutely none of the connections furthered the case."

"Ok," JJ nodded, glancing at the file in front of her. "But what about the children? Were there any other connections between them?"

"Nothing. These children's families lived all along the east coast. The children never came into contact with each other. That's what led us to look at the families instead, see if there we any connections there."

"And you ran into the complete opposite. Instead of too few connections, you came up with too many."

Katlyn nodded.

"In that case, I think we should take another look at the girls, see if the new girl has anything that could tie her to the other victims." He glanced at Katlynn, making sure it was ok to hand out orders, and she nodded. "JJ, I want you and Morgan to go to the Messing home and find out what you can. Garcia, get ahold of the new letter and the letters from the previous cases and get Reid some copies. Maybe he can find something in them that can give us an idea of who the unsub might be."

JJ nodded, and as she gathered her files, she noticed the younger girl, Fae, sit up quickly, face going white. As the team dismissed, the girl all but ran up to JJ, her face hopeful. "Hey!" she grabbed ahold of JJ's arm. "Agent Hotchner mentioned something about a guy named Reid. Who's he?"

JJ saw Morgan tense and step back, obviously recalling the way the girl had been when he had introduced himself. JJ almost chuckled, except Fae's fingers were still digging into her arm. "He's a member of our team. You'll meet him later-"

"But what's his name?" The girl pleaded.

JJ looked at her in confusion. "Spencer. His name's Spencer Reid."

Fae's face pale and, letting her grip on JJ's arm go, she backed away slowly. "We found him," she whispered, so quietly that JJ wasn't sure she had heard the black haired girl correctly. And then she practically yelled, "We found him!" she ran over to the tall blond man, still yelling. "Mika, he's here. Spencer's here!"

Mika frowned. "Fae, I don't think-"

JJ cut him off. She didn't want to be rude, but this girl was confusing. "Wait. How do you know Spence?"

Fae, who was now practically jumping in place, ignored her, gasping breathlessly, "I've got to find Shea. He needs to know!" she bounced out of the room, calling her brother's name loudly, JJ staring after her.

"I'm sorry about that," said the quiet, calm voice behind her, and she turned to see Mika standing cautiously behind her. "She's been trying to find Spencer for over six years." His voice remained quiet, but JJ swore she saw a hopeful light in his eye. "But, is it true? Is Spencer Reid really here?"

"Um, yeah. But I still don't understand. How do you guys know him?"

Mika's eyes lit up, and he smiled gently. "So he didn't get out after all," he murmured to himself, then he addressed JJ, saying, "Spencer Reid is one of our team members. He's one of the two that left after this case was shut down."

* * *

"So, why did you leave?" Shea glanced at Spencer, who was leaning up against what seemed to be his car. He was so different from the way he had been six years ago. He was quieter, thinner. He even looked sick. That never would have happened before.

"You know why I left, Shea. I couldn't stay after…" Spencer stopped, taking a deep breath. "After that."

Shea shook his head. "No, Spencer. I don't know. You never told anyone anything. You didn't even mention you were leaving." Shea fought to keep the bitterness out of his voice, barely succeeding. "You didn't tell me, or Baylee. You didn't even tell Katlyn." Now it was impossible to hide his anger. "She stood up for you, Spencer. She defended you, and you went over her head. She could have helped you! I don't think you understand just how upset you made her, Spencer."

Silence hung over the two men as Reid searched for something to say.

"It was my fault, Shea. I was cocky and self- centered, and-"

"No, no! Do not start on that again. We told you after it happened, and I will tell you again now. She was _not your fault_!" Shea slammed each word with intensity, determined to get it through his stupidly smart head.

Reid just hung his head. "No, man. It _was_ my fault. I was watching her. I was supposed to protect her. And I let her down."

"But still, you could have talked to me, or even Mika! God knows he can keep a secret." Shea grumbled. "You didn't need to leave the way you did."

Spencer sighed. "Look, I couldn't stay. Let's just leave it at that." He straightened, and began to walk away, but came to a halt when Shea grabbed his wrist. Shea jerked his hand away when he saw Spencer flinch. His eyebrows furrowed.

"What happened to you? Your not- you're not Spencer anymore."

Shea watched as pain flashed in his old friend's eyes. "The Spencer you knew died when he caused the death of a little girl, Shea. He hasn't been here for a long time."

Shea watched in horror as Spencer walked back into the building. Caused her death? What was he talking about?

* * *

"Wait. You're telling me that Reid used to work for the CIA? But that's not possible. He joined the FBI at 22. Even that was against the rules. No way Spence could have been in the CIA."

Mika's face was neutral as he regarded her. "Spencer was recruited for a… I guess you could call it a special team. It was a group of incredibly gifted children who were geared towards law enforcement tracks, or whose skill could be helpful in that track. We recruited four teenagers, all of which were tested not only on how gifted they were, but also how mentally sound and resilient they were. Spencer and the twins were the first ones, and they were joined by another girl named Baylee Lewis about six months later. Spencer was about 16 when he joined."

"But that's so young!" JJ Protested. "How could you do that to children?"

"They all agreed to it, and they're families were ok with it-"

"But they were children!" JJ exclaimed. "Little kids! No child is ready for the type of crap we deal with!"

Mika looked abashed. "We didn't realize that. It was an experimental project. But by the time we realized exactly what it would do, it was too late."

"How late?"

Mika looked JJ in the eye, his eyes somber. "Late enough that a little girl lost her life. Because our kids were kids. Incredibly smart kids, but they weren't even drinking age. And then we lost two of them." His smooth voice was rough and shaky.

"A little girl- you mean the third victim? Lilly?"

Mika nodded. His eyes were sad.

"Which ones?" JJ breathed, horrified.

"Baylee Lewis and-"

"And me."

JJ turned, jaw dropping as Spencer walked in, his brown eyes somber.

"Spence?" JJ breathed. "What are you talking about?"

Reid took a deep breath, then said. "I'm the reason Lilly Harper is dead. I as good as killed her."

* * *

"Shea! There you are!" Shea stumbled as his sister launched herself at her brother, crushing him in a hug. Shea gave a non-committal grunt.

"Shea! He's here! Spencer's here! I'm not sure where, but he's here!"

"I know."

Fae pulled away, staring into her brother's dark eyes. "What?"

"I know. I've already talked to him."

"Really!?" Shea was practically bouncing with excitement. "Where is he? I want to see-"

"Fae," Shea cut her off, and she went silent almost instantly. Guilt flooded through him. He hated interrupting her. "You need to be careful. He's not the same as he was."

"What are you talking about?" Fae's eyes darkened carefully.

"Fae, he's-" Shea paused, his mind flashing back to how things had been six years ago. Everything had been simple, different. He remembered the way his sister had revered Spencer for so long, and knew she would be crushed by the way he had changed. "He's different. He's not the Spencer we knew."

Fae stared at her brother, disbelief in her eyes. "I can't believe it." She whispered.

Shea lowered his head, not wanting to see how she responded to the news. "I know. It's difficult, but we need to accept that he not how we remembered him-"

"No, that's not what I meant," Her tone was so sharp that Shea's head snapped up. She was blazing, completely furious. "You being ridiculous."

Shea was bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"You act as though just because he's changed, that he's not the same man, but he is! Just look at Baylee, she's nothing like she was six years ago, but that doesn't mean she's not Baylee anymore! You're just upset because you can't see past the changes unless you witness them yourself!"

"Fae, you're being dramatic-"

"So what if I am!" Fae snapped. "You're turning on a friend when he needs you most. We're not kids anymore, Shea. We've grown up, we've matured, and so has Spencer. So why don't' you just stay away until you decide to stop being such a- a hypocrite!" She spat at him, then turned and ran off.

"Hypocrite?" Shea mumbled to himself as he watched his sister run off. He shook his head and pulled out his phone. He needed to talk to Baylee about this.

* * *

"Spence, what are you talking about?" JJ asked, stunned.

He didn't answer, didn't even look at her. Instead, he turned his eyes to Mika and gave the man a nod. "Mika, it's good to see you,"

"You too, Spencer," the taller man, his voice mournful.

Reid gave the man a small smile, then turned his attention to JJ, his brown eyes burning with intensity. "JJ, what he told you was true. I was in the CIA for a little under six years. They recruited me after I got my first doctorate. It was amazing, and I knew it was what I wanted to do. But things got… difficult." He took a deep breath, then seeped to force himself to keep talking. "I was seeing one of the other people on the team. Baylee," he paused, glancing at Mika. Mika simply nodded.

JJ felt shock whelm up inside her, and ridiculously, another emotion akin to- jelousy? She hatted that she felt that way about a girl from so long ago in Reid's past, but she couldn't help it. She liked him, of course she did. But it was too soon, and too much was going on.

"Baylee and I were… well, we were kids. And we were sure that we would be able to keep our relationship separate from the job. But it didn't work out that way. We talked constantly, were sneaking away from assignments to be together, even for a few minutes. We were foolish," Reid's eyes flashed with pain. "And our foolishness cost a girl her life."

"Spence," JJ whispered, walking over and holding out her hand to him. He took it and gave her a heartbreaking smile.

"What happened, Spence?"


	3. Chapter 3

" _Spencer!"_

 _Spencer glanced away from the large, pale yellow house where his girlfriend was talking to Mr. and Mrs. Harper, and looked down at the icy blue eyes of Lily. He smiled at her._

" _What up Lily?"_

 _Lily glanced around, spying her parents on the porch, then grinned in an impish way. It made Spencer laugh. This girl was pretty cool, for only being 6._

" _Can you take me to the arcade? I asked Mommy and Daddy, but they told me no. they said it was dangerous. But I don't care! I'm big and brave!" the girl puffed out her cheeks and chest, trying to show Spencer how big she was. Spencer chuckled, and reached out to pat her head._

" _Not today, kiddo. Your parents are right, it is pretty dangerous. But once things settle down, I'll take you to the arcade, ok? Maybe this time you'll be able to beat me."_

 _Lily looked disappointed, but she grinned at the idea of a challenge. "I'll beat you!" she proclaimed loudly, then she spun around and ran off to the swing set in her front yard._

" _You are so good with her," whispered a soft voice beside him. He turned to see Mrs. Harper standing by him, a camera in her hand. She smiled up at Spencer, who gave her an easy, charming smile back._

 _Mrs. Harper had probably looked a lot like her daughter when she was younger. Now her dark hair was streaked with grey, and her forehead crinkled with worry lines. But her eyes were just as bright as her daughters._

 _But as she watched her daughter, tears wheeled up in her eyes._

" _Keep her near you, Spencer. I trust you to take care of her."_

 _Spencer glanced at her shocked, but nodded firmly. "I'll take care of her, Mrs. Harper."_

 _The woman gave spencer a watery smile and, in a sudden movement, reached in to hug Spencer._

 _He hugged her back._

 _She took a gasping, breath, trying not to cry, then pulled away, yelling, "Lily! Come here for a moment! I want a picture of you and Spencer!"_

 _Spencer laughed as Lily scampered off the swings and ran towards Spencer and her mother. "Can Alexander be in the picture too?"_

 _Spencer and Mrs. Harper laughed. "Sure! Go call him," Spencer chuckled._

 _The little girl smiled, then called out, "Alexander! Come here boy!"_

 _Spencer heard the pounding as the large Bernese dog bounded around the corner, tongue lolling out the side as he ran. He sprinted across the lawn, only to slow to a halt at Lily's feet. Lily giggled and pet the dog's head that was just barely shorter than her._

" _Good boy," she giggled._

 _Mrs. Harper smiled, then shooed Spencer over towards her daughter. "Now, then, Spencer, you stand near Lily- yes just like that! Now- Lily, hold that dog still, don't let it jump on Spencer! Ok, one, two, thre- Oh!"_

 _She broke off in laughter as she watched spencer crash down to the ground, the giant dog landing on top of him. Lily laughed happily, and Spencer couldn't help but join in. The Polaroid picture fell to the ground, Lily smiling happily, while Spencer and Alexander were just a blurred spot of brown in the back._

* * *

" _She's a little spitfire, isn't she?" Fae laughed as she and Spencer watched Lily maneuver her way up a tree._

" _Yeah, she is!" Spencer grinned. "Kinda like a little sister I never had."_

" _Hey!" She exclaimed! "I thought I was the little sister you never had!"_

" _Hmm, I don't think I ever said that. I believe I said you were the little pest that I never wished to have." He tease easily._

 _Fae smacked him, grinning. "Don't worry, I feel the same about you!"_

" _No you don't,"_

 _Fae made a face, before laughing. "How do you know? Maybe I found someone new!"_

" _There's always someone new for you Fae. Weren't you hitting up the mailman earlier?"_

 _She grimaced. "Maybe I was. What's it to ya?" she glanced up at him, nudging his side. "Could it be your jealous?"_

 _Spencer rolled his eyes. "Yes, Fae. I'm madly in love with you, and any guy you flirt with that isn't me is drives me insane. My only wish is that we could run away to Quebec together to live out our lives as llama farmers."_

" _What's that about llamas?"_

 _Both Fae and Spencer turned to see Baylee walking towards them. As usual, Spencer was entranced. Her green eyes sparkled as she laughed, her short brown hair framing her face, curling in at her chin. She smiled sweetly at her friends._

 _She raised an eye at Spencer. "Are you thinking about running off with Fae? You promised me the same thing last week, you player!" she lightly thumped him, but her fingers lingered gently on his arm for just a moment more._

 _Spencer thought his heart was going to explode, it was beating so fast._

 _But he gave her a wicked grin. "Oh, you caught me. Now I've lost you both." He hung his head comically, but then glanced up though his hair dangling in his face. "Unless…"_

" _NO!"_

 _Spencer couldn't help laughing, and the girls joined in._

" _Spencer! Watch me!"_

 _Spencer looked up, and saw that Lily was back on the ground, doing cartwheels._

" _Spencer! Are you watching?" She called._

" _Yeah! I'm watching!" He smiled, watching her spin. She was so young, and didn't understand what danger she was in._

" _Spencer?" He glanced away and saw that only Baylee was beside him. He looked around, trying to find Fae._

" _Where's Fae?"_

 _Baylee laughed. "She left a few minutes ago. You're out of it today, aren't you?"_

" _Not really. Lily just take up a lot of my attention."_

 _Baylee smiled at him gentle. "You like her," she commented._

" _Yeah, I do. She's a cool kid."_

" _You don't usually like kids." She pointed out._

 _Spencer shrugged. "She smart for her age. And she doesn't act spoiled."_

 _Baylee smiled, glanced around, then slipped her arm in through his. "Do you…"she broke off, nervous. Spencer looked down at her. She was biting her lip, staring at Lily. "Do you think you would ever want to have kids?" she finished hesitantly._

 _The question shocked Spencer, and he looked at her for just a second. Then he looked at Lily. She was smiling and laughing as she played with her dog. He smiled, watching her._

" _Yeah," he whispered. He smiled down at his girlfriend, who grinned back, eyes shining. "Yeah, I'd like to have kids one day."_

 _He watched out of the corner of his eye as Baylee grinned to herself and snuggled closer to Spencer._

" _I think he would have your eyes," she whispered._

 _He pulled away and looked at her. Baylee's face was bright red, and she was looking at the ground. A warm feeling welled up in his chest. He pulled her in close, pressing her close. "She would look exactly like you."_

 _He heard her gasp, and she pressed closer, raising her head to look at him. "I love you,"_

 _He grinned down at her, "Love you more." he lowered down and pressed a kiss to her lips._

* * *

 _The next day, Spencer was playing outside with Lily. The little girl had decided that a dragon was terrorizing the neighborhood, and only she could stop it, along with the help of her trusty steed and the sturdy pack mule._

" _Spencer, you're not doing a very good job being the pack mule." Lily scolded, a scowl on her small, childish face._

 _On his hands and knees, Spencer found himself held down by the weight of the many books the girl seemed to believe was necessary for saving the world from a dragon. And the clothes. And the many sticks that Lily had scoured the yard for, attempting to find the perfect "sword." Eventually, she had given up and placed as many as she could on the back of her newfound pack horse._

" _Lily, even a pack horse can only carry so much," he attempted to tell her, but Baylee, who was on the new laptop that they had fought for month for, cheered the little girl on from her space near a tree a mere three feet away.. "He can handle it, Lily. It will toughen him up!" called his girlfriend. Spencer shot her a dirty look, and she laughed. "Don't worry, Spencer. If you're sore tonight, I can see what I can do to help you relax."_

 _His breath caught at the undertones over voice. He glanced at the little girl nearby, who had distracted herself by readying Alexander to be her horse, then hissed at his girlfriend, "I know I said I wanted kids, but that doesn't mean we should start now!"_

 _She giggled conspiratorially, then said in a hushed voice, "I thought you promise your mother you would be safe in your last letter. Does that not mean both on and off the job?"_

 _Spencer felt the sudden urge to toss the sticks off his back and throw himself at his girlfriend, the urge to kiss her until neither of them could breathe nearly overpowering, but all thought of romance faded when he heard Lily shriek._

 _In a flash, he was on his knees, the items on his back falling to the ground, and in his periphery, he saw Baylee tense and her hand go to her waist, ,where a gun was safely stowed. However, it was unneeded as he saw Lily grinning boldly at a taller, curvy woman._

 _The woman's eyes were a dark green and her skin was evenly tanned. Locks of auburn hair fell around her face as the rest of her shoulder length hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. She wasn't older than thirty._

" _Caroline!" Lily squealed, but the girl, feeling Spencer's eyes on her, stayed still and didn't rush towards the woman._

 _Caroline. The name struck with Spencer. The previous nanny for Lily. The woman had been let go once the threats against Lily had been made, along with most of the staff of the household. It had been done for the safety of the little girl, but nothing had happened because of it. No more threats than usual. That fact had led Spencer to believe that the killer didn't reside inside the house, but Katlyn hadn't been very sure._

 _Caroline smiled gently at the girl. "Hello Lily. How are you, dear?"_

 _Lily smiled. "I'm fine."_

 _Caroline nodded, then turned to Spencer. "You must be one of the agents?" her voice became less sure as she looked at the toys surrounding Spencer, as well the tie that had been place haphazardly around his neck as a way for Lily to lead him around. He sent a slightly panicked look towards Baylee, who grinned, then stood to take control of the situation._

" _This man is an approved temporary nanny for the family."_

 _The woman chuckled quietly. "The CIA keeps a supply of nannies?" she glanced at Spencer appraisingly, then whispered "are they all as nice to look at as this one?"_

 _Reid flushed and stood, trying to brush twigs and dirt from his clothes. "The name is Spencer Reid." He held his hand out. Caroline took it and shook firmly._

" _Caroline, may I ask why you are back?" Baylee asked carefully._

" _Oh, yes! Mr. and Mrs. Harper agreed to give me a letter of recommendation, as well as a few households in the area that are in need of someone to care for children. They told me that, though I had only been with them for a short time, I was very efficient. It's very kind of them, considering the tragedy they are going through."_

 _The three chatted for a few moments more before Caroline turned, waved goodbye at Lily, then left the property._

 _Reid and Baylee moved back to the tree as Lily ran off to play in her tree house._

" _You looked a little jealous when Caroline mentioned that I was good looking." He teased her, and watched as she blushed nervously. He heard Alexander giver a loud bark in the background._

" _Yeah, you're good looking. For a twig." She teased back._

 _He grinned and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I don't think that's what you said e last night."_

 _Baylee's face was bright red, and Spencer grinned triumphantly. With most people, Baylee could talk dirty with the best of them, but it still pleased him that whenever he said something, she turned a perfect shade of pink._

 _Baylee smiled, the glanced around the yard. She tensed up suddenly. "Where's Lily?"_

 _Spencer felt cold terror fill him as her looked around, standing quickly. The yard was empty. No Lily, no dog. Silence._

" _Lily?" he called "Lily?"_

* * *

JJ closed the door behind her, leaving Spencer in the meeting room alone. She had to get out of her. She had to get away from him. For just a few minutes. Her head was buzzing as she walked away quickly. Spencer's words played on repeat in her head.

 _I got her killed._

She took a left turn, jogging down a set of stairs.

 _Yeah, I'd like to have kids_

She slowed as she walked down the hallway, getting dizzy with the pain in her chest. Her heart.

 _Love you more._

Why did that hurt? Why did it hurt so much more than anything else he had said? It shouldn't. She should be concerned that he had lied to them. That his actions had gotten someone killed. A child killed. That he hadn't trusted any of his friends enough to help him. So why, out of everything he had said, had those three words stabbed her so painfully.

"JJ?"

No. no right now. She couldn't handle it. She couldn't look into those beautiful brown eyes and just be ok.

"JJ, Please just listen to me."

"Spence, I can't right now." She straitened up and began walking away from him.

"Jennifer!"

That made her pause. He hadn't called her that. He never called her that. Only JJ. Rage filled her, startling her slightly. He was angry? What gave him the right to be angry? She should be the one who was angry, but no, she was heartbroken instead. And somehow, that hurt more.

She whirled on him, glaring.

"What, Spencer?" she hissed. She watched as he stepped back in shock, hand still reached out towards her. "What could you possibly have left to say?" Her words seemed to act like daggers, and she watched as each word struck him, his face dropping, eyes widening.

"JJ, please," he whispered. "I'm… I'm so sorry. But please, please, just listen to me!" he was pleading now, begging to stay, to listen to him. "I spent the next six months after that trying to catch the guy. But it was no use. After Lily, the guy just, disappeared. Nothing I tried worked. Everyone was worried about me, tried to get me to take time off. Eventually, my obsession with trying to catch him…" he grimaced and looked down. "It drove Baylee away from me. That sobered me up, helped me realize just how far I'd gone. I had to get out of there. I was content to just go to school study, find a new job. But then the BAU offered me a job, and I thought, what if there is a way for me to keep looking, to keep in touch with the case, but maybe move on." He hung his head. "I wanted to tell me someone, but I was terrified. A little girl lost her life because I got so close to someone on my own team. I was scared that that something would happen. I just-"

JJ watched as he struggled for words, sorrow slowly replacing the rage. He was so scared, so worried.

She walked over towards him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his chest. She felt him tense, before relaxing and slowly crushing her close to him, accepting her comfort.

* * *

Shea watched from a distance the blonde woman and Spencer hugged for a few moments, before walking away, shaking his head. _She_ could get him to talk, but he couldn't? Spencer had been his best friend for so many years. They had talked about everything, tease Fae together, practically lived together. They had been family. But then he abandons him, his family, for some blonde?

Shea found an empty room and entered, slamming the door angrily. He pulled out his phone and called the one person he had relayed on during these last years, other than Fae.

"Hello?" Came a sweet, soft voice. That vice brought back the afternoons driving from case to case. He and Fae, Katlyn and Mika, Spencer and Baylee.

"Hey Bay," he sighed and collapsed in a chair.

"Shea? You sound exhausted, and you've only be gone a few hours. Are you Ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but something's happened."

Shea could hear the loaded silence on the other end of the phone, and immediately realized how his words sounded. "Everyone's fine! No one's hurt!" he exclaimed quickly.

He heard her sigh in relief. "We really need to work on the way you deliver news." She laughed, then said, "Ok, so now that I know none of you are missing limbs, what's up?"

"It's Spencer. He works here, in the BAU."

There was another silent moment before, finally, she said, "He is? Is his Ok?"

"Um, yeah, he's fine."

"Well, that's good. I happy he's ok."

Wait. What? That was it?

"Bay, he's working here, at the BAU. He left us to work with other people."

"Shea-"

"And it's like… he's not Spencer anymore. Spencer was warm and funny, and my best friend! This guy… I don't know what he is! And he's-"

"Shea!" he stopped at the unusual sharpness in her voice. "You need to calm down. Now think, did you really expect him to be the same person as before?"

"Well, I- I don't know."

"Shea," she paused, and Shea was sure that she was shaking her head. "This case screwed with Spencer. Spencer felt the blame for what happened to Lily for so long. He was never going to make it out of that the same person that we knew. But that doesn't mean he's not Spencer. The little things may have changed, but he still Spencer underneath it all."

Shea sighed. That was the same thing Fae had said.

"Just try and talk to him. Maybe you'll find he's the same person. But wait a little bit. Wait until the case is over. He's going to be more stressed out than usual, and you won't get anything out of him. Just be patient."

Shea just nodded, then said "Ok. I'll try. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Um, Shea? Just one question."

"Yeah?"

The silence on her side of the phone was tense before, finally, she asked, "Does he have someone? Is there anyone-"she broke off, not able to talk.

Shea thought back to how the blonde agent had comforted Spencer, the way he had desperately poured his heart out to her, in a way he hadn't ever done to anyone.

"Yeah, he's got someone."

He heard her take a deep breath, then say "Thank you, Shea. I'll see you when you get back, ok?"

She hung up without another

* * *

Baylee Lewis hung up the phone, leaning against the wall in relief.

"Thank god he's ok," she whispered aloud. "I was so worried."

"Honey? Baylee, you ok?" called a calm voice from the living room. She smiled, comforted by just the sound of his voice.

"Yeah, babe. I'm fine. You'll never guess who I just heard from." Grinning, she grabbed a bowl of snacks and wandered off towards the living room.

 **Ok guys, i know it's been a while since i last update, and i'm really sorry! College is bogging me down and I barely have any free time left. but i have one more chapter to post and then that should be it! let me know what you guys think! :)**


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